Our role as therapists go beyond the physical. With every encounter with our clients, we assume many roles, such as a coach, cheerleader and advocate. The way we act and speak matters and influences outcomes.

So, let me take the start of the school year to discuss one of my favorite topics: self-determination!

The definition of self-determination that I love the most comes from Larry, a 34 y/o adult with physical disabilities, from the paper by Angell, Stoner and Fulk, 2010:

“The power to do whatever the heck you want even if anyone says you can’t. Without this I wouldn’t have a life. I’d be stuck at home.”

Such is the power of being self-determined! To live and control life the way you want to. It is no wonder that:

Self-determined youth are more likely to be actively engaged, take a leadership role, and set direction of discussions of their own transition planning (OSEP’s National Longitudinal Studies, 2005)

Self-determined adults are more likely to live independently, be employed and earn more as adults (Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 1997; Wehmeyer & Palmer, 2003)

This always make me think…how many of my clients have the “power to do whatever the heck” they want? And if they don’t currently have this power, will they have this power when they are older? Are we making too many decisions for them, or are we giving them opportunities to be self-determined? How is what I am doing and saying impacting their self-determination?

Most of all, I imagine a life that is lived with self-determination…where they are in control of their daily lives and their futures.

Self-determination is not a single skill or attitude. It consists of various skills and attitudes, including:

Just like any other skill (e.g., walking, communicating, writing), self-determination develops over a lifespan and can be taught! (Doll, Sands, Wehmeyer and Palmer,1996) Therefore, we should start as early as possible to incorporate self-determination-enhancing strategies in our interventions.

See SeekFreaks’ self-determination strategies infographic above. I provide suggestions for developing 8 of the self-determination elements. The strategies I provide can be summarized with these 4 phrases:

Coaching our clients

Allowing our clients to practice a skill

Modeling our own self-determination process

Providing opportunities

Which ones can you incorporate right away? Any other strategies you utilize and found to be effective?